DefenceTalkThe US Army could be reduced by a further 15 percent, with cuts to the numbers of full-time active soldiers as well as reserves, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday. He said a review found that priority missions could be handled with between 420,000 and 450,000 active troops — compared to the 490,000 currently envisaged […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-could-reduce-army-by-further-15-percent-hagel-48651/

DefenceTalkApproximately 700 U.S. and 3,000 South African Defense Force service members gathered here for the opening ceremony of Exercise Shared Accord 13, July 24. This is the second exercise of its type between these two countries and is the result of bilateral discussions that originated in 2009, and were approved in 2010. “This particular exercise […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-africa-south-african-partners-kick-off-exercise-shared-accord-13-48583/

DefenceTalkThe US military is reviewing its rules of engagement to deal with the growing threat of cyber crime, military chief Martin Dempsey said Thursday. Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officer in the US military, said the review was in response to soaring cyber attacks. “The Department of Defense has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-reviews-rules-of-engagement-over-cyber-threat-48274/

DefenceTalkThe US Army will scrap 12 combat brigades as part of a budget-cutting plan to slash the size of the force after a decade of war, chief of staff General Ray Odierno said Tuesday. Calling the move the biggest reorganization of the Army since World War II, the general outlined how the force would reach […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-outlines-plans-to-cut-brigades-48267/

DefenceTalkOshkosh Defense successfully demonstrated its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototypes at an event hosted by the U.S. JLTV Joint Program Office in Quantico, VA. During the demonstration, the Oshkosh JLTV prototypes completed the military’s severe off-road track (SORT) without fail, allowing military and congressional leaders to observe and experience a new generation of light […]https://www.defencetalk.com/oshkosh-defense-demonstrates-jltv-prototypes-for-us-48129/

DefenceTalkRaytheon under a contract modification from the U.S. Army, is adding new capabilities to the Identification Friend or Foe interrogator to reduce Radio Frequency (RF) emissions and enhance target identification for the warfighter. “We understood that the warfighter needed an improved identification capability, so Raytheon is both increasing the capability of the interrogator system and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/raytheon-to-improve-us-army-air-defenses-better-identify-targets-48138/

DefenceTalkRemember the Future Combat System (FCS)? This was a complex “system-of-systems” which involved manned and unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, advanced weapons systems and sensors, some of them remotely operated and an all-encompassing command, control and communications network to hold it all together. After nearly a decade of development and the expenditure of tens of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/has-israel-created-a-system-the-us-army-couldnt-build-47983/

DefenceTalkThe US army is working to limit its dependence on GPS by developing the next generation of navigation technology, including a tiny autonomous chip, the director of the Pentagon’s research agency said Wednesday. DARPA, the research group behind a range of spy tech and which helped invent the Internet, was also the driving force behind […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-seeks-new-technology-to-replace-gps-47624/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has delivered the first of eight Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) missile defense systems to the U.S. Army two months ahead of schedule. Northrop Grumman successfully completed acceptance testing with the Army on the first CIRCM suite of equipment and delivered a complete hardware set. This testing, which confirmed system performance, size, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-grumman-delivers-circm-system-to-us-army-46636/

DefenceTalkUnmanned aerial vehicles soared through the sky under the control of 16 “Raider” Brigade Soldiers during QR-11 Raven training on Fort Carson, Jan. 7-18. During the two-week training certification course, Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, in a variety of career fields, learned how to launch, maneuver and land the small, unmanned […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-units-train-for-uav-operations-46567/